Partly Fiction is the title of a new documentary produced by a friend about the actor Harry Dean Stanton. I missed catching the film at the Marfa Film Festival last weekend by about 30 hours. Next time...
And the title feels apt today as I'm trying to navigate, in my story, the line between fact, truth, fantasy, reality. In my story's departure from reality, how do I ensure strict adherance to emotional truth? So today I got an email that made me laugh and realize that as the creator, I do get license. I'd sent the story to a long-time filmmaker/pilot friend to truth-check the flying elements of the story. He gave me a couple of relevant critiques. And then he shared a perfect story of his own. He's worked a lot with Hollywood special effects wizard, Doug Trumbull. When they were working on Back To The Future--The Ride, the DeLorean was supposed to crash into a river of molten lava. My friend said to Trumbull: wouldn't the tires just melt away? Trumbull replied: the DeLorean was fitted with Goodyear anti lava melting technology in the tires. Just because we made it up doesn't mean it isn't true. I will continue to navigate that line, but perhaps today with a bit more levity. Heading home tomorrow, still with unanswered questions and not near enough chorizo. But experiencing sensory overload. Must leave a couple of days to process. This landscape is crushing me a little with its beauty. Truth and fact.